Haunting Past
by UuenTheYueRyuu
Summary: "The wounds seem to arouse old memories. Memories he has tried to forget. Memories that make him who he is now." Established D18. Yaoi/Shounen-ai. Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Two-Shot.
1. Chapter 1

Slumping to the ground with a heavy grunt of pain, Tsuna sighed as he took off his new weapons, white gloves that transformed into these awesome-looking ones when he was in his Dying Will Mode. He looked up to see his Gokudera, Bianchi, and Fuuta being carried off by stretchers. _Where's Hibari-san?_ A low hiss nearby brought his attention to several men clad in white attempting to persuade Hibari to let them help him. He watched in horror as Hibari propped himself up with bones cracking in protest—he could hear the broken bones rubbing against each other even from this distance. Tsuna gulped. _Not good_.

Hibari brought a tonfa defensively in front of him with too much effort, his breath hitching with any move he made and coming out in short gasps. He slid his legs painfully slow under him, readying himself to stand up despite knowing both of his legs were fractured in the most painful of places. The men in white crowded closer, and Hibari swung his tonfa at them with a strength he shouldn't have. "Stop…crowding…" he hissed through his gritted teeth to prevent the moans of pain from falling out.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a blond man steps between the men and Hibari. "Do as he says, or you'll make things worse."

Tsuna's eyes went wide with recognition. "Dino-san! What are you doing here?"

Dino grinned, making himself look so off-place with the surroundings. "Yo, Tsuna, nice work on defeating Mukuro." He took a gander behind him at the heavily injured figure glaring daggers at him. "I received a call not too long ago from Reborn ord—saying to help out with Kyouya…since he is refusing it so much."

Intensifying his glare at the blond standing in front of his hazy line of vision, he imagined he was drilling holes into Dino's back. This person that self-proclaimed himself as his tutor—well, Dino was more than just a tutor…or a friend—was seriously planning on _helping_ him? Yet Hibari couldn't deny the crimson liquid dripping down his torso and arm from a deep gash on his shoulder or how it hurt to breath because of the way his broken ribs poke at his lungs or the fact that his wrist and a few fingers were bent at an awkward angle and his broken-in-half bones in his thighs and forearms rubbed against each other excruciatingly at every movement or the blood trickling down the side of his brow or the way his entire body was littered with countless cuts and bruises. It was at this point of time when Hibari cursed his pride. "I don't need…your help…omnivore."

Bewilderment was clouding Tsuna's senses. Dino and Hibari were on first name basis? And Hibari called Dino an _omnivore_? _Is being an omnivore even a good thing? For some reason, I feel jealous of Dino-san. I wonder what kind of relationship they have._ "Then, please take care of him."

Herbivores were apparently deciding for him now, Hibari grudgingly analyzed with a huff. Suddenly, his vision was veiled in black, and there was the panicked call of his name from a familiar voice. Pain surfaced harshly when his body made contact with the cool floor, a pitiful moan escaping his lips. But he was not ready to give up now or ever. His eyelids snapped back open, and he swatted away the hands begin to roam around his body. "Get…_away_."

Dino blinked at Hibari; the amount of determination in him never ceased to amaze him. "Kyouya," he said softly as though he was afraid any loud sounds would earn him another slap on the hands, "it's just me." Dino watched as Hibari's form relaxed to the point where Dino thought he looked for once peaceful besides in his sleep and took that as his cue to wrap his arms behind Hibari's shoulder and under his knees carefully. He stood up slowly, and Hibari groaned at the movement, sweat beading itself on his forehead and soaking his raven locks.

Hibari attempted to muster a glare, but it came out as a pained gaze. His breath hitched when a needle was inserted into the crook of his fractured arm and vaguely heard soothing words from Dino. He heard doors slam shut and the car begin to drive off. He must have dozed off for a few minutes if he did not notice Dino walk him to the…limousine?

Seeing the confusion in Hibari's silver-blue eyes, Dino explained with a smile, "We can't let anyone know the great Hibari Kyouya was beaten by someone; it'll decrease their trust in your protection in whatever shape or form it comes. After all, there isn't anyone stronger than the Head Prefect, right?"

A phantom of a smile crossed Hibari's features, startling the daylights out of Dino. "Idiot…"

Dino's heart made flip-flops in his stomach, and a dark blush dusted his cheeks. Even though he had been dating Hibari for a few months, he still hadn't gotten used to the times they kissed—Hibari enjoyed pulling him by his tie to kiss him on the lips _in front of the entire Disciplinary Committee!_ And just the very rare smile Hibari gives him makes him want to crawl under the ground. "H-how are you feeling?" _Wow, what a stupid question_.

Hibari turned his head away from Dino, not trusting his voice to lie to the only person he has acknowledged more than a degrading herbivore; he blinked when he realized his head was resting on Dino's lap. "'m fine," he mumbled eventually.

Dino huffed. "Yeah, you look splendid."

Hibari rolled his eyes at Dino's sarcasm. "Then why ask?"

Shrugging uncomfortably, he said, "I just felt the need to ask."

"I feel like shit."

Dino's eyes went wide. Honesty and expletives in the same line uttered by Hibari was most definitely _not_ a good thing. He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. "Wh-what hurts the most?"

Hibari's silver-blue eyes settled on Dino's worry-stricken hazel ones. Hibari's eyes widened by an almost imperceptible fraction—did he just say what he was thinking aloud? Oh, well, it's not like time likes rewinding itself. "Shoulder."

Dino looked at Hibari's shoulders; the left shoulder (the one furthest away from Dino) was twisted slightly out of place, while the other, although the medical team had wrapped clean bandages to halt the bleeding, was oozing blood. "Umm…which one?"

Hibari shrugged his shoulders to test the amount of pain that flared and instantly regretted it. He hissed through clenched teeth and eyes tightly closed to ward off the mewls he was sure were going to spill. But he managed to decipher which shoulder hurt worse. "…right."

Dino reached behind Hibari's less-hurting shoulder and lifted Hibari up until the skylark was sitting on his lap, his head tucked under Dino's chin. Dino held him there, not wanting to ever let go but careful enough not to aggravate any fractured bones or cuts. "How…did you manage to get this hurt, Kyouya?"

Hibari slipped lower until his head rested on Dino's chest and listened to Dino's heart beat happily. He turned his head until half of his face was covered by Dino's white, button-up shirt and mumbled something incoherent.

"Kyouya, I can't hear you."

"Sakura-kura…Rokudou Mukuro knew," he mumbled louder.

Anger boiled deep in the pit of Dino's stomach—how cowardly for Mukuro to go after an ephemeral weakness created because of an accident with the Trident Mosquito and use it against him because Mukuro knew he was nowhere near the fighting capabilities of the Head Prefect. Luckily, Mukuro had gained a sick and twisted interest in Hibari, resulting with Mukuro not kicking the bucket for Hibari. And Dino could not thank the gods that were out there enough. Nevertheless, Hibari's pride was cracked, and that was a sin one must pay greatly for by severely being bitten to death. And then whipped to death, courtesy of Dino. "He'll pay…I'll make sure he does."

Hibari let a second smile grace his lips. "Stupid Haneuma*…." Black dragged the corners of his mind, and, without putting up a resistance, he fell into the clutches of slumber. Oh, how he wished he never did.

Those cursed memories were coming back to haunt him.

D.i.n.o.H.i.b.a.r.i

*Haneuma is Japanese for Prancing Horse, if you already did not know.

I know this is really random, but "I'll eat you alive" is my favorite line starting from today. It just…came to be, I guess. Haha. Perhaps, I should change my username to I'll Eat You Alive.


	2. Chapter 2

"Kyouya!"

_"Kyouya!" Rage contorted her face in the ugliest way, eyes bloodshot and pupils dilated; her eyebrows drew together to the point of brewing a massive throbbing in her temples as she raised a stiff hand high above her raven head while the other held a skinny arm of a young child with a vicious grip that would she was certain would inflict dark hues depicting the imprint of her hand._

_The child flinched away, futilely attempting to untwist the fingers digging into the skin of his arm, and moisture began to collect in the corners of his large eyes, clumping his thick, long eyelashes together. His lower lip trembled as a silent plea vibrated his vocal chords that ground out a strangled whimper when the woman's nails imbedded themselves deeper, staining them a gory crimson from the liquefied essence of life that oozed out from the cracked skin. Pain flared sharply, and the restrained tears cascaded endlessly down his cheeks marred in purple and black. "M-mother," he begged with bereft hope upon his knees, "no more...!"_

"Snap out of it, Kyouya!"

_"Kyouya," she snarled his name like simply conjuring that arranged order of syllables upon her mouth brought a foul taste, a savour that made her heart thump wildly with venom coursing throughout her veins draped under Hatred. "Kyouya," she reiterated, and the way the vowels rolled off her tongue like a mocking melody fueled her rage—and that was enough for her hand to swing down and hit the already-abused flesh of the child's cheek. The collision of skin against skin resounded throughout the wide hallway, and the child's head snapped to the side under the strength of the brute, merciless force. As though the burning sensation tingling that ignited a few seconds after the hit blossomed a deeper, darker anger, she shouted an incessant mantra of the boy's name, and each time the name was mentioned the hand swung down on a new patch of flesh with renewed strength._

_The slaps that seemed like a thousand needles piercing his skin simultaneously jerked him from side to side, his body resembling an old rag-doll being flailed about by a wailing infant. The pain slowly numbed into a dull nothingness, his vision becoming clouded by the shadows of darkness; suddenly feeling the rather weak sense of d__éjà__ vu, his mind distractedly reminded him he had fallen unconscious in a disturbingly similar manner the day before and the day before yesterday and the day before that and the day before that day..._

_The woman never halted even after noticing Kyouya's body had fallen limp under her grasp. What did rather suddenly and seemingly out of thin air stop her, however, was a man dressed sharply in black, the unkempt, golden locks and piercing, grey irises reminding her of the abused body being dragged around, when he locked her arms behind her back with his own while commanding the few numbers of servants that trailed behind him to take the child away from the woman. _

_It was brief, but Hibari managed to snatch a view of an older counterpart of himself but bereft the raven locks. Nevertheless, a gut instinct told him this man was his father._

_Yet, to his sadness and agony, he did not awake in the embrace of a caring father._

"Please…wake up…!"

That woman_, he recollected_, was the one who forced me to believe the world was limited to one room darkened by the shadows of devils. The one who allowed only for visitors to be sycophants of my "beauty" and "splendor", yet at the end of those sessions, she would warn, "Don't be fooled by his looks—he is Satan's son born in human flesh."

The herbivores would gasp, their hand over their mouths dramatically, and mutter in disbelieving, mocking way a "no". Then, they would gather closer until around me until there was but a foot left of space among me and them—it pissed me off to no end. And, the last and first I ever spoke, I menaced, "Get the _fuck away_, herbivores, or _I shall bite you to death_."

That night I was lucky to be sent off back into the sealed cavern that sported as my room with only eight fractured ribs and a swelled cheek.

The day—or rather night—I was beaten to the point I could barely breath or move more than a twitch of my fingers for a few months was the fateful night I had found a way out of that hellhole people called the most glamorous mansion in Kokuyo. I ran, an action that I have never engaged in before, until I nearly collided onto a cement wall. Whether it was by fate or some stroke of luck, I found myself standing before the Namimori Middle School…the gates unlocked and fully opened as though inviting for trespassers to waltz in and throw mayhem about—but, to me, those doors were the entrance to heaven. Nevertheless, right after I set one bare foot upon the premises, I was snatched roughly by the arm, a familiar slender hand twisting and curling around my limb, and another hand clenched into a fist slammed against my temple.

After that, I remember no more until I awoke to searing pain coursing through my veins and every ligament of my muscles, my chest constricting so tightly I was passing out consecutively in intervals of several minutes. When rushed, heavy footsteps began to near my room, I sucked in a suffocating breath, attempting to force the darkness to cloud my vision so I wouldn't have to bear with the pain of the beatings I was certain were to come. The gods must hate me, for the darkness did not wrap me in its clutches in the most desirable time to be veiled in it.

_The door slid open harshly enough for it to come off its hinges and fall upon the floor with a deafening cacophony, missing the boy's leg by a few inches as he struggled the writhe away from the wrath piercing through him that emanated from the woman he has come to abhor. The woman slurred incoherent, angry screams and launched at the frail body lying on a thin futon, and, when she was in mid-air, a larger body tackled the woman to the ground, their bodies sliding over the wooden floor until the wall abruptly stopped their motion._

"Goddammit, Kyouya, don't become the Sleeping Beauty that remains in eternal slumber…"

_Kyouya, fear and the tiniest shimmer of hope shining in his dull eyes, tilted his head ever so slightly to see the blond mop of hair he had identified as his father several months ago struggling to keep the woman under control by chaining her hands and feet together with metallic cuffs. Heart skipping a beat as what little air he had in lungs dissipated, moisture built itself in his eyes and overflowed, leaving wet marks down his face—he had never greeted the darkness with so much pleasure once his conscious finally slipped. _

_Where the woman had been taken off to—probably an asylum, he pondered—was a mystery to Hibari. Yet, even to this day, Hibari would only curse her existence and hope she is rotting somewhere in the most sadistic layers of Hell._

_Hibari mused that the day after his saviour had come, he had awakened on a surface capable of allowing sleep to arrive peacefully for what appeared in his mind as the first time in his life, and the first thing he noticed was the sun-kissed locks giving off a celestial luster and the warm, grey eyes that were a mirror of his own. The man cooed his name lovingly—something that had been surreal to him before-while caressing his tattered, swelled cheek in the most soothing way._

_A hand weakly rose to run the tips of his fingers along the smooth and soft surface of the handsome man's face. _Fa…ther...?

_A silent tear ran down the impeccable skin of the man, and he wrapped his hands around Hibari's fragile one. He closed his eyelids, pressing the hand enclosed by his own hands gently against his cheek, his teeth biting down on his lower lip to muffle the sobs rippling from the depths of his chest. "I am so sorry, Kyouya...I knew I shouldn't have left you to live with your mother after our divorce, foolishly believing a mother's tenderness would suit you best." He laughed weakly, another tear leaving a salty streak down his cheek. "Never would I have imagined for Fate to twist my words in the most unforgivable way." Those grey eyes revealed themselves again, and the man smiled. "I'll make it up to you a decimillion times!" Then, as though reassured by his words, the smile curled further until it reached a grin that nearly blinded Kyouya. "I'll start by introducing you to my friend's son, Cavallone Di—"_

An involuntary intake of air rushed all too fast into Hibari's lungs; and, too rapid for his weak mind to take, his body became rigid under the immense aches and throbs of what he deemed to be on every square hundredth of a millimeter structuring his body. He willed his tightly clenched eyes to be pried open...and his heart skipped a beat when he was met with the sight of golden locks lustering brightly despite the dim lighting. He attempted to move his arms, but they felt like they were suffering an extreme case of Jupiter-gravity (which he sincerely hoped was one of those ephemeral diseases). He mumbled rather incoherently, "Father...?" But several more blinks to clear the mist hovering over his vision revealed it was not his dear father.

How Dino managed to comprehend his mumbling will always remain a mystery to the skylark. A relieved but distressed smile graced Dino's features. "Sorry to disappoint you, Kyouya; Shou-san is still in Russia investigating some recent drug-dealing activity in Vladivostok that is affecting the Vongola." He sighed heavily. "Were you having a nightmare? I thought for a second there you wouldn't wake up—it's been two days."

Disappointment flared in his chest. He turned his head so he could peer out the window streaming in the crimson, orange rays of sunset that lustered softly in his stormy irises. He bit his lower lip. He tried to relish in the fact Dino had remained by his side in this pitiful state he currently found himself in—he really, truly did, but his wounds had aroused those despicable yet treasured memories of what was the present of several years ago, the memories he has so futilely attempted time and time again to compress into a tiny box and secure within the abyss of his mind. Yet he could not deny these memories are what conjured who he is now, and an extremely miniscule section of himself that did not consist of his pride hated himself for allowing his past to morph him.

These conflicted emotions, of course, like anything that concerns Kyouya ever does, Dino notices in an instant by merely peering into the deep heavens guarded within Hibari's eyes. "Don't worry yourself over such things." He reached for the hand sporting the least amount of bandages and tenderly pressed it against his cheek, an action he knows Hibari loves and seeks comfort in. He cups the skylark's cheek and strokes it with his thumb, thoroughly enjoying the smoothness it. He trails his thumb over Hibari's lips in a seductive manner, and he unconsciously licked his lips, forcing Hibari to draw his attention back on him to watch him like a predator would to its prey. Slowly but surely, Dino's lips descended upon Hibari's, sparking a delicious friction that enticed them their tongues to tangle in an intricate dance.

A sensation began to veil the emotions eating at his soul, his heart drumming to the beat of the warmth _biting to death_ that darkness. A sensual lick on a sensitive patch of his wet cavern drew a melodic moan from the back of his throat, stimulating every slide and curl of tongues into a more heated dance.

Parting the kiss for the need of gulps of air, Dino leaned down to whisper huskily so his breath ghosted over Hibari's lips, "I'll protect you from anything and anyone and will _never, ever_ leave your side." And that particular smile Dino only displayed for his lover graced his features, and Hibari's insides promptly turned into mush and sprouted flowers for butterflies to perch on. He leaned down again to capture the other's lips after whispering with possessiveness he minutely knew he possessed, "_Because you're mine only._"

_Forever and ever and all eternity—even in death._

….

Haunting Past is dedicated for Cherie-chan~! *Hugs*

Special thanks to Shinya18Kougami for adding this story to her founded Community "Much-Loved Reads", for reviewing, for favouring, and following this Two-Shot!

Many "thank-you"s to Scarletblood21 for being so supportive of my stories!

Thank you for reviewing, Rikka Yomi!

Thank you Hibari Mayumi, Inu no Youkai, ReikaTsuyu, Rikka Yomi, and Stormywolf12, SkylarkRequiem, and Scarletblood21 for favouring/following this story!


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